Editor’s Note: There are at minimum 99 Things about life at Camp Alleghany for Girls that are NOT changing this summer! That’s why we started our 99 THINGS Blog Series with: Part 1: Activities, Part 2: Downtime!, Part 3: Food., Part 4: Mornings & Evenings, Part 5: Evening Activities.
I can’t believe I’ve been at this for six weeks now and I’m nowhere NEAR running out of things about camp that simply won’t be affected at all this summer by the pandemic. Things we can and will do again, as comfortably and as happily as we did them for the other 98 summers.
And speaking of those 98 summers…if there’s one thing that has evolved over all those years, all those decades, all those summers, all those days and weeks at camp it’s our TRADITIONS!
‘Ghany Girls have fashioned some of the most memorable, engaging, funny, touching, goofball, endearing, joke-y, silly, sophisticated, and unique traditions in the camp world. And while a few of these may be common to camps in general, the vast majority are ours and ours alone! They are our “insider speak,” our special touchstones, our one-0f-a-kinds, the special elements that make Alleghany Alleghany, and make ‘Ghany Girls, ‘Ghany Girls.
So let’s dive in to just a tiny smidgen of our traditions (and you make sure to email me or tag us on Instagram with YOUR favorite traditions, too!)
Traditions
1. Watch the Junior Counselors (JCs) get their purple (or not!).
2. Cheer on your team in our epic (but friendly) summer Blue/Gray competitions.
3. Slip your way down the water slide and throw water balloons at the Carnival!
4. Gear up, get your game face on, and get ready to put your all into the Swim Meet and Canoe Meet!
5. Put your heart and fond memories into singing “The Circle Game.”
6. Quote “What do I love about being a ‘Ghany Girl?”
7. If you’ve been with us that long you can celebrate being a 4-Year!
8. Try…and try…and try to guess the Banquet theme! (Good luck!)
9. It will transport you to the heart of our camp as you sing “Babies Boats” and “Remember” on the last Campfire of each Term.
10. Are you a Start-Up? An Upstart? A Midway? In Junior Camp? Sing your group song at Assembly.
11. Collect patches and stars to start — or add to — your Alleghany patch pillow.
You know what? Now that I think of it, this just barely scratches the surface of our traditions and how they will go on this summer…and for summer after summer after summer to come.
I can’t wait for that — can you?
— Warmly,
Elizabeth Shreckhise, Director, Camp Alleghany for Girls
*If you want to learn more about the merits of sleepaway summer camp, download my FREE e-book, 3 Reasons to Begin Your Child’s Sleepaway Summer Camp Experience Early. It’s a great resource to share with friends, or if you are a first-time camp family and you wonder what sleepaway camp would be like for your child. We’re open this summer — so come join us!
